JVC Marshmallow headphones. These awesome Reebok wrestling shoes my older bro gave me cuz they were the wrong size. I can’t stand playing without those shoes. And a pair of Starter sweatbands. that way you don’t have to go groping for a towel when you get sweat in your eye in the middle of a blistering passage.

I didnt read any of the other posts on this subject so not sure if anyone else has mentioned this “Must Have” tool for a working drummer but here is my MUST HAVE~

Its aptly called the “Tempo - Ref” - which is assume refers to Tempo Reference OR with some bands, Referee might be more appropriate.

What Is It?? Its a Tempo Measuring Device—-
The Main unit is about 3 inches long, 1 1/2 inches wide and 1/2” thick with a 3 digit display ( in RED numbers ) It has a “Sensitivity Adjustment control knob on the left side as well as a 1/8 inch female jack. It comes with a 6 foot cord with a 1/8” male plug on one end and a Drum Trigger on the other end. It also comes with a wire holder that you secure with one of the tuning lugs on your snare drum that helps keep the trigger in place. It also comes with some Velcro to allow you to attach the main unit to a cymbal stand if you so desire. The Main unit has a built in Trigger so mounting it to one of the toms would not be a good choice for a mount.

What It Does: It measures your snare tempo and reads it at Half the correct BPM. For example; If it reads out 60 ...then your actual BPM would be 120 BPM. It refreshes itself 4000 times a minute so any change in your tempo is reflected almost instantly. Playing a riff will cause the unit to read either a #1 or some random 3 digit number and once you drop back to the basic 2 & 4 pattern for a couple seconds, it will again read out correctly. Train beats give it fits and convulsions, but again, if you drop back to the 2 & 4 pattern, it picks that up quickly. Now, for those of us who play Ghost Notes, that sensitivity control allows you to tune OUT Ghost Notes. Also, it picks up your Cross Stick Rim Shots as well.

It also has another function: It has two Buttons above the 3 digit read out and with them you can display the Starting Tempo you want to kick a song off with and it has a low volume “click” as well as the Numbers will Blink in time with the tempo speed you displayed. For practicing at a specific tempo, you set your desired tempo ..it starts flashing and you start playing…from then on it reads your exact tempo ( at half the correct BPM)

What Is It Good For??

For your private practice sessions, its an excellent tempo coach. You cant cheat~!

For Working drummers in a Band:
You can dial up the correct tempo on the Tempo-Ref and then click your sticks at the correct speed to kick off the tune.

You also gain confidence in your ability to maintain the correct pulse…Tempo-Ref is monitoring you constantly.

For drummers who have a band mate who either rags you about your speeding up or slowing down or who is the cause of the band speeding up or slowing down…the Tempo-Ref will keep YOU from following him/her and the rest of the band might just buy you steak for breakfast~!

For Session Drummers: No longer will you have to rely on a Click Track to keep you on the money. Tempo-Ref is almost instantaneous in reading your tempo.

Since I’m not being paid to “hawk” their products, I wont go into the cost thing but its “Reasonable”.

To find it on your own, do a Search for: Tempo-Ref for Drummers on Google.

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I am a Drummer…its not only what I do…its also an integral part of who I am

Ok Ok…Yeah, I know I just posted my Accessory I Cant Live Without but hey, Ive got a long list of em haha.

For those of us who play the Cross Stick Rim shots quite regularly (and personally, I use the Butt end of my stick to do so because of the increased volume and lower tone)

I have been irritated from the first time I did the cross stick rim shot in having to jam my fingers and thumb into the head to do it.

Then, one day while perusing a catalog containing nothing but drummers equipment, I found the perfect solution. Its called “The Wedge”...made by my favorite drum company “Yamaha”. It is a curved piece of laminated Maple with slots and two chrome steel “L” shaped mounts and a couple of wing nuts. It attaches to the rim of your snare drum by passing the tuning lugs through the hole in each “L” bracket and then putting the lugs back to normal tension and then you slip the Wedge onto the exposed bolts and secure the Wedge with the enclosed Wing Nuts. I used 5 lug washers between each one of the brackets and the rim to raise the Wedge a bit higher than it normally sits to get a bit more height from the head. Mounting it as it comes packaged, the Wedge is raised up about a 1/4 of an inch higher than the top of the rim. With the 5 spacer washers , its about 3/8 of an inch higher than the rim.

The end result is that it raises the striking surface higher than normal so you dont jam your fingers as hard into the head as normal PLUS your cross stick rim shot will be not only be louder but it will have a much better wood tone than before. Using the spacer washers brings the Wedge up high enough that your fingers barely touch the head, if at all, plus you get all the volume and deeper tone of the Wedge. Playing it with the Butt End of the stick gives you the sweetest, loudest cross stick rim shot you’ve ever played.
I have one on my Main Gig snare and one on my Road Gig snare and one on the practice kit snare at home.

Dont Leave Home Without It~

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I am a Drummer…its not only what I do…its also an integral part of who I am

This is stuff Ive accumulated over the years that was needed at one time or another on stage. The guys in the band have all had an occasion to need something I carry. Better to have it and not need it than the other way round.

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I am a Drummer…its not only what I do…its also an integral part of who I am

I carry just about everything you mentioned, with me as well, except for the soldering stuff. But i think I am going to start. Oh yeah, don’t forget the two bass drum replacement springs, 2 extra BD beaters, two soft cymbal mallets and a pair of wire brushes.

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A good drummer will sound good on anything. A Bad drummer will sound bad on anything.

One of my most useful accessories is my Vater earplugs. No drummer should be with out hearing protection. For my first five years of playing drums, I thought it was uncool to wear earplugs. In that short time I could tell that my hearing had been getting worse, so I started to wear hearing protection and found that it actually makes rehearsals and on stage sound a lot clearer.

One of my most useful accessories is my Vater earplugs. No drummer should be with out hearing protection. For my first five years of playing drums, I thought it was uncool to wear earplugs. In that short time I could tell that my hearing had been getting worse, so I started to wear hearing protection and found that it actually makes rehearsals and on stage sound a lot clearer.

Have you considered in ear monitors? As long as your sound man isn’t a complete moron he/or she should be able to set you up with a pretty basic headphone arrangement fairly cheap and easy. if you do it right you can even use your preferred pair of headphones too. I like JVC marshmallows because they’re cheap($20 at walmart), comfortable, and they’re kinda like ear-plugs in their own right. you should be able to set it all up like this:
Sound board output (NOT AMPLIFIED!!!)<—monitor cable—> personal monitor amp<—1/4 to 1/8 jack<—your headphones
—or—
SBO^(STILL NOT AMPLIFIED!!!)<-monitor cable->Direct box<-XLR cable-> PMA <-1/4 to 1/8 jack<—headphones

I use option two because if you use option one you only get one ear because of the mono channeled monitor cable. The XLR apparently splits the signal. Also very important note… NEVER EVER PUT YOUR MONITOR CHANEL IN LINE WITH THE HOUSE SPEAKERS! especially if you use the personal monitor amp box. You’ll basically be double amplifying a signal and will run the risk of fusing the headphones with your head should your sound man decide to hit a wrong button. Just some food for thought. Otherwise this is a simple set-up for minimizing hearing damage and maximizing how much of your band you can hear.